DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 446 540 HE 033 375

AUTHOR Erikson, LisaTITLE At-Risk Student Perceptions of the Value of Their Freshman

Orientation Week Experiences.PUB DATE 1998-00-00NOTE 13p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern

Educational Research Association (Tampa, FL, February25-March 1, 1998). Some text is smudged.

PUB TYPE Reports - Research (143) Speeches/Meeting Papers (150)EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Academic Achievement; *Basic Skills; *College Freshmen;

*Cultural Literacy; *High Risk Students; Higher Education;Interpersonal Competence; School Holding Power; *SchoolOrientation; Student Adjustment; Student Attitudes

IDENTIFIERS Critical Literacy; *Freshman Orientation; Mount.Ida CollegeMA

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the impact of one college's Freshman

Orientation Week (FOW) just prior to the fall semester as the first componentof an academic achievement and retention enhancement program for at-riskstudents, The Learning Circle (TLC). TLC provided cognitive, metacognitive,affective, and behavioral skills and literacy training in five areas: basicskills literacy, specialized skills literacy, cultural literacy,multicultural literacy, and composite world literacy. During FOW, studentslived together and met with a personal learning specialist. TLC includedweekly group meetings with the program director, peer mentoring, and studygroups. Data were collected via written assessments of what students feltthey could and could not handle during the semester and strengths andweaknesses of the program. The FOW developed a strong sense of solidarityamong 23 participating students and between these students and participatingfaculty and administrators. This solidarity and initial bonding helpedintegrate students into the academic, dormitory, and campus life throughoutthe semester. All 23 students felt they would be more successful academicallyand socially following the FOW. They all finished the fall semester, and 91percent preregistered for the spring semester. Their mean fall semester gradepoint average was 2.3. (Contains 16 references.) (SM)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

1

At-Risk Student Perceptions of the Valueof their. Erpchman OricIntation Week_ETpPrienrPs

Lisa Erikson, UMASS at Lowell and Mount Ida Colleae

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS

BEEN GRANTED BY

L_.

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

EDU TIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it.

Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality.

Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

2

At-Risk Student Perceptions of the Valueof their Freshman Qrientation_Weel_PYpearierires

Lisa Erikson, UMASS at Lowell and Mount Ida CollegeAbstract

This_pappr dpscrihes some of the results of_implementingaFreshman Orientation Week (FOW) at a 2+2 private college justbefore the fall semester. began. as the first component_ of.anacademic achievement and retention enhancement program for at-risk. students cal.lecL.The_ T,PA rn ng rrlp . The_ EMI,. aswell as the TLC, focused on all five of the Spheres of Literacy.identified. by Dagostino.and.Carifio..(l994,And_notjust Basic(academic) Skills and (academic) Cultural literacies as mostprograms.af this kind tend to do.

In general, the FOW developed a very strong sense ofsolidarity among the.. 23 at-risk students in the program As wellas between these students and the faculty and administrators whoparticipated. This_ sal icurlty and initial_ hnnding helped. tointegrate these at-risk students into the fabric of academic;.dormitory and campus_life over the course of the fall semester.All 23 at-risk students felt that they would be more successful .

academically and socially during the fall semester due_ to_whatthey had learned and their participation in the FOW. And thia-was the case: all 23 students finished the fall semester and 91%preregistered for the Spring semester.' This mid-year retentionrate_far_exceeds the.national standard at, Zat. These_ 2.3students had a fall semester mean GPA of 2.3, while the cohortgroup had a mean average of 1.58.

Many of the planned cognitive aspects of the FOW were putorthold_in.ordP r ta deal .with the affpf.tisre and sorial problemsof these students. In fact, the four students who eventuallyleft the college left for social and not academic reasons andwere doing well academically, two of them with GPA's over 3.0.StudentswereLof the_ opinian.tnat_the_time.spent on. affectiveand social problems in the FOW helped them considerably to be .

successful and cope during._ the.. fall semester. Students alsoidentified several aspects of the FOW that needed to beimproved. such_ as highly_f_ocused _and. well_programmmed_ eveningactivities and sessions.

Although a Freshman Orientation Week is without doubt areal added cost and labor intensive, the benefits observed inthis study were such_that ..it. would_ seem..more than well wortil.thecost and effort and a component that should be added to Jewler's s.(1989). model of the ideal. first yeat program for at -riskstudents.

Paper_presented_at the annual_confprprice_of_ the Eastern_Educational Research Association, Tampa, Florida, Feb 25-March1, 1998-

rfs

iL 3 BEST COPY AVAIL A E

Overview

Many higher.. education institutions, have recently implemented"freshman seminar" programs to help increase retention of at-risk students.. The actual_ value_ of.. freshman.. seminar.. (.FShowever, seems to vary widely due to a number of factors(Gardner., 1993.; Siegal, 1989.) For. example,___Fidler .and...ilanter_"_s(1989) review of the literature found a positive relationshipbetween...par.ticipation_ln FS...programs and. higher sophomore returnrates as well as improved academic performance and increasedknowledge. and_ use of_student._s.ervices.... ...Yet,_ Fidler _and__Hunteralso point out that "no matter how well planned,researched

.

and_... pro actively._ conceived__ a___ freshman seminar_ may.be, programs can be...totally destroyed by students'

reaction .....and perceptions (p_228)7 to_them. Betterunderstanding of students' perceptions of the differentcomponents_and..experiences....o.f_a_typicaL_FS_ pr_ogram,_.. therefore,could possibly help to improve such programs and to make theoutcomes_ of. ES...programs_.maria_.pasitive. and_lesa. variable.

Jewler (1989) has outlined the components of an effectivefreshman_ seminar program- The i deal . FS__program is fl PT i hi e,tailored to meet student needs, designed to enhance student ,success,... and realistical ly appropri ate_ for_ .students...in__ terms_ ofthe standards and norms of the institution they are attending.As. Jewler...points out,.... an.. Affective_ ES.._ program. addresses_ "thingsstudents need to learn about themselves, things they need tolearn._ about. their own..campuRi. and_things _they. need__to...learnabOut the value and meaning of higher education (p.207) ,"particularly at .the..inst.itution_they. are..attendin.g.

Purpose

Mount ..Ida...College is.. a. 2. + 2. open.. adm.issions_ college...whosedelivery system of services was lagging behind the changingpopulation... As.. us ing..a.. freshman _seminar_ ty.pe... progr am._ as_ oneelement in a set of strategies to increase student retentionrakes_ has been.. strongly advocate& in_ the literature...MCI:sr&ly(e.g., Gardner, 1993), the Board of Trustees authorized a pilotinitiative for the 199 7-133 8_ Academic...Year_ called The T.Parni IIgCircle (TLC). Further, one component of FS programs about whichlittle is_ known empi rirally is.. the_ effectiveness of_theOrientation Week, which is usually conducted the week before ..

other.. students_ come to..the._campus.. The..purppse of the...pr.es.entstudy, therefore, was to assess students' perceptions of thestrength& and weaknes.ses_of_the Or i entation..Week component....inthe Mount Ida Program in order to understand how this initial .

component functions in. .terms...o.f_ it' s stated ..goals as...well_aa_howthis program component contributed to overall program success.As.. Orientation.. week _is...an...expensive progr.am...component..in.._termsof student and staff time as well as the costs of supporting

.students. during. this_Weak,_reaearch_on_theeffectiveness_of_theOrientation week component of Freshman Seminar programs haspractical as_well as theoretical

4

Con.ceptuaL Framework

Tha_ganaLal thenrptiralframework_of_this study. Waa a_cognitiveand development view of learning and behavior (see Ashraft, 1994and Gormiy4.1993) which is embedded in the Spheres of_TiteracyModel outlined by Dagostino and Carifio (1994). Within thisgeneral rrinfpyt, Npicmpr,s, (101E4 theory of_ perceptica..was.iiapdas well as Heider's (1959) attribution theory and Krathwohl's

(1964y theory. of the affective domain. and values and valuing.

The Spheres of Literacy Model (Dagostino and Carifio, 1994).dearrihes 5 general_ domains_ or_ _kinris of. 1 iteracy, each_of_whichis a nested subset of the others. These five spheres ofliteracy ara.Basic_Skills literacy._SpecializedCultural literacy, Multi-Cultural literacy, and Composite World,.

(=(`ritical) literacy_ muiels Qi_Aparning and instructiondiffer in each of these spheres of literacy as well as thecognitive and affective levels at which learners processinformation. The Learning Circle Program attempts to developParh of_these_grhPrP4

of_literacy.withat-risk.stndpntg acrossthe year and not just the Basic Skills and (Academic) Cultural.literacies as most

post,-secondary.programs_for,these.studentstend to do. Consequently, The Freshman Orientation Week began.the proressol_develAring,thpse litetsries

emphasis on Basic Skills, Cultural and Multi-Cultural literacies.in both the cognitive and affective domains.

Perception, according to Neisser (1967) and cognitive learningtheory (Ashrraft,the-construal_ofinformation being processed by the individual and the making (orconstruction)..of meaning... which become the basis of thoughts,feelings and actions. Perception, and thus the construction ofmpaning,_works_by an ahAlyais-13T-Synthpsis prnreSS (NPiaspri1967) and is schema driven, as well as schema altering, and is-,the fundamental reason. why.."expectations" are such powerfuldeterminants of and "drive" thinking, feeling, and behavior.ElIrtheAr, what one pPreaivPR or. bel ieves. tfel be the_ ran SP of

events, including what happens to oneself and one's own behaviorin various situations,. is an extremely strong determinant ofone's thinking, feeling, and behavior, and is the reason why a _pprann's_ranaal attribilitinn Patterns (paid r, 1959).._. are. soimportant.

For example, if a student's perception (belief) is that academicsuccess is basically luck or the professor liking or dislikingher or.. him.,. then time_mAnagemant cr_stndy skillsbe meaningful, relevant, or attended to by this student untilsomething is done about this fundamental_perception_and causalattribution and belief. Therefore, knowing how students'pprreive_what they are experiencing_is important knowledge tohave in order to better understand how education activities workor. do .not work with them,

as_well_as.how.these. perceptions_needto be altered or may be capitalized upon and what educationalactivities and_help thay.napd__

5

Academic locus of control theory (see Lefcourt, 1992) is asubset of causal attribution theory as is self-efficacy theory(Bandura, 1985) to a great degree. Both of these latter theorieshave been quite popular recently relative to analyzing andtheorizing about at-risk students.

Krathwohl's taxonomy of the affective domain (Krathwohl et al.,1964) provides a structured and hierarchical framework thatbegins with receiving and responding willingness, styles, andbehaviors and progresses to satisfactions, values, commitmentand value systems. Krathwohl's taxonomy is of value in devisingand evaluating systematic instructional activities as well as inassessing the development progression of students in terms ofthemselves and their understanding of others. As Krathwohlpoints out, there are many kinds of affective skills, learningsand literacies, and deficiencies in these affective items mayimpede and quite often inhibit cognitive, metacognitive, andbehavioral learning and performance. It is for these reasonsthat the affective domain and affective development was such astrong component of the Freshman Orientation Week and TheLearning Circle Program.

The Learning rirclp program_

The Learning Circle Program provides specific cognitive,MetacogDifive, affArtive-andAvabavinral clkillq and tifprary_trainings in the five literacy areas identified above. It alsoserves_as.a..sociaLgrutem nr "suzrogatp family" for_. thestudents. The Learning Circle consists of 5 components:

L.. The.FrPshman-Orien.t.atisan_Week.;...

2. A personal Learning Specialist that met with each.

stivicsnt one.hnnr a_week ThaLLSLpinvided weeklycourse and basic skills tutoring, personal counselingand academic advising, tparping sppnialists_workdirectly with faculty and the administration on behalfof. the student.

wikich,eatail.fa...-heth, mediation_ and_.,..advocacy. The LS kept logs of each session indicatingwhat _type of...support _Ida& Offprpdinperl0d: arachamig,emotional or social;

A_wtzakly groupmeeting_with_tbe_DirPrtOr of...the_ programcontinued the sense of solidarity, and also gave the

stildfmnts.a.place:to_wma....t..he-umek.fs...frustrations_andtriumphs and a platform for more structured discussionssurroundinq_social issues_such_as_ciafP raper. and_sclan.,;_

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

6

4. A Peer Mentoring system included 5 sophomore studentswho had demonstrated leadership skills and agreed to bededicated to the_success. of...their assigned TLC sturiPnts.Mentors gave their students their phone number and setup ,scheduled hours of. availability. Mentors met withtheir students weekly and kept a log of all contact.Mentnrs were..enroliraseri to keep. in_ contact with _thestudent's Learning Specialist;and,

5- The MuhammadAli .Sturiy Group._ was. as after tInnrg tutoringcenter open to all students but MC students were _required to ..attend_ at. lnasi- twice_ & week. The StudyGroup had professional and peer tutors but was also usedto foster a_ norm at. regular_ study. holirct.

A more detailed description of the program is availablepl Rimwbertm (see. 'TLC Handbaak,. 19171.

Freshman Orientation Week

The FOW was developed by a steering committee that includedcampus -wide personnel.- Lts_ corn apprat- i ng_ prirripla. was_ that themost effective support programs for at-risk students providef far* i var- behavioral_ an.d_ al Act-cti cf-anC.P in. additioa. tocognitive support services to achieve academic success.The program_ began with an Anti vity decti gnPri to_ break the_ ice,force students to identify their goals and their different rolesin_ ) i fe - This "initiation" of. gntt i ng up_ cll. stage and prnannt togtheir conclusions to one another began the bonding process.The. groug.1 ive1 together in_ a_ cinrmi for }t_. for_ the. summerorientation week. By the end of the week they had seen eachrather at._ thomi r best and_warst- E3zery Ri-nciontst ..tee.. awakenedat. 7:00 a.m. and the day was filled with classes on studyctkil ls,_ time and money management, onmpni-pr. ski 1 1 s, purpncteand rewards of a getting a college degree and academic conductand..sf anda - Other ..sessizum inr-1 ucinri getting ta_.knolez .thecampus, college personnel (faculty and administrators) and teamrhal lengeS Several. cps:ft; nnct were_ devoted_ ta. salt-esteem building, conflict resolution techniques and discussions.af_ feel Trigs., hopes_ and_ .fna rr4_ The week. .culminated in a_ qpnoi 4_1"graduation" dinner where students were awarded a $500 letter ofcrnriit at_ the campus bookstnrn- Tha..week..was well Planned .toaddress the cognitive, affective and behavioral domains.

i 1 cid SohP(11111 P of. this week .ran. be found_ ia_ the the_ TLCHandbook 1997).

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Methodology

Twenty three _,(23.) students.. who. met the ..United States Departmentof Education's definition of being an At-Risk student wereselerted_by the college admiqqinn staff to participate_ in_theLearning Circle Program. All of these students were the firstin their_ fami 1 i es to attend. college... Ten (.1,Q) of the. 23students were female, 15 were black, 3 were...Hispanic, 1 was _

4..weze. white. A. hl i nd. rohort. Gr_oup..of at -risk. MountIda freshman was also chosen for comparative assessment. The _

dpntities of.. the.. Cohort. Group remain. anonymous in keeping.. withthe accords of the Family Privacy Act of 1974.

Data were, collected_ from participating_ students ConrArnin% theirperceptions of the Orientation Week Program in a variety of both .

formal_ and_ informal .gracedares_ botk_during the. week and a_ weekafter the program was completed., when participants had firsthand pYppri Pnra with their rl a gams,. p.r.ofp4gor4p. and. peers. Thedata reported in this paper are drawn primarily from the formal _written_ al;RP.ssment procedure done_ a. week after the oripntationweek was completed. (See Appendix for Instrument).

Thia formal Raaegigment prOCPrinrP askPd students to lis.t.thethree things that they felt they would be able to handle during ..

the semester And the .three. things that they sfelt they. would notbe able to handle. Students were also asked to list threestrengt.hs. _and_ three weakness of_the..Orient.ation Program and twoother similar questions.

Students. made. their Lists_ on.. separate sheets_..of paper... Oncetheir list were complete, they were then asked to go back and _reflect and write the_ reasons_for the items.they.had_pu.t..ontheir lists in order to separate the generation of list itemsfrom_the evaluation and contextua.Lization.of list items..

. Allresponses were made using a self-generated code name made up by _pah atuirient_ to ensure. confidentiality.

The responses made by students were content analyzed accordingto.. the..standarsl. content analysis procedures..outlined.by. Weber(1980) and Miles and Huberman (1994). Subjects' key word,phra Ras,. and..short sentences.-were .coded. into..a. matrix. of_ factorswhich reflected the components, goals and objectives of theOrientation_ Week_ program . and.. the. theoretical framework used. forthis study and the generalizations drawn from this matrix werechecked ..for consistency agai nat- the_ scpwpes of_ data_.abiaytthe Orientation Week program that were collected.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

8

Results

Same_ of_the_ major findings_ from_ the content analysis_ of_ thematrix of factors by questions described above were as follows:

-The. oriPntation week_devpinpad a, qtrnng spncte of anlidarity_among students. All 23 students identified making friends andbeing_ a_ part_ of_ a group.. as_a_ majnr benefit of_ Orient at inn Week.More than one third of the group wanted to room with each other _rather than_the.ronmmatPs_the_rn11pgP assigned_to_them.Workshops conducted by college administrators resulted inincreased_communicatinn an&bandincs betwee/Ladainistratatsandstudents.

-ALL. 23_ co-nripntq 1 i std at. least_ I key thi ngs that-they feltthat they could handle better as a result of Orientation Weekand all. 2.3. were opt i mi stir that_ they wnul _successfni ly completethe first semester. The items most cited that they felt theyran 1 d handl .better. w e re . stony aid 11 S and time. management

-Due to student's extreme needs, questions, and confusions inthe affPrt i ve and deizelopmentaL Proack# the. cognitive_ based,activities in the training sessions were largely put on hold in .many. at the_ sessions_ during_ the_week. Af ferti ve anti. socialproblem areas were the areas that students cited as not being-..rnnf i cipnt about_ handling This finding strongly_ underscaredthe importance of the affective domain as outlined above and theimportance of_ the a ffPctive focus_ in_ the EOW.. and.. TLC__and_ theneed for a strong and on-going counseling component.

- Students cit.erl several_ aspect-5: at the arientation..week_thatneeded improvement. These were length of sessions, littleattention to the evening_ hour_s_ and_ t hey . could be- usedconstructively to help students be better prepared for thesemPqter_,_ and topics that_ should.. baize been. addressed __that werenot.

- All 23 students_ felt that .the.y..would_be more qnriressfulacademically and socially during the fall semester due to what ---.they _ p_arned and thoi-r patt in.. the FOW..._ rlIELCstudents were assessed by tracking a Cohort Group. A comparativeanalysis of the 2 groups xe3zeals_ that The T.Parning. Circleretention rate of 91% was in contrast to the 80% of the CohortGroup. as_ af. one week_ print .to_. Spring_Seme_star. Although...twoadditional students left the college by stabilization, it isclear_ that the early. preregistratzipn. at TLC_ student& hespe.aks....ahigh desire to return to Mount Ida attributable to positivefirst_.semester. experiences.

- As Lettieri (1998) reported to the Mount Ida Board ofTrustees.,. comparative_ mean. GP.A.'s. reveal_. a.. for MCparticipants and a 1.58 for the Cohort Group. Average GPA's were2.29 for the. TLC group_ as_.comparPd_ to L..65 for the Cohort. Group.Translated into qualitative terms, The Learning Circle students

9 BEST COPYAVAILABLE

asa_group_attained_a_Ci. average which earned a_"fair" academicstanding based on College-wide standards. In contrast, theart' Grnnp. attained a__D± gradea3TP..rageand_achieved a_ "poorbut passing" academic standing. In most tangible terms, 67% ofthe. TLC. students earned_Gpg.fs_of_C...cr_better_,. with_ nearly 40%earning B- or better. This stands in contrast to the CohortCroup. inhere 651

had_Grut's_cf_Di.or_loues.....The-Learming rirnle's.64 and .72 higher GPA respective averages and means are more _

than donh1P the 30 achieved in_cur_natica's TRIO Programs.-All 23 students were well bonded to the college at the end ofthe-first_semester and_had s_strong rommitmpnt to gettingacollege degree even if it meant transferring to a publicinstitutioa.because Ot_finAnrial factorat_which 2 etudents_didafter the Spring Semester began. All 23 students also feltthat they were well served_by Thp Learning rirrle Programand_its staff, even given the many difficulties they and the programexperienced over the semester.

Some of the other reasons why the Freshman Orientation Weekhelped_to_promote this- strong, handing and_commitmenti4students are given in Conclusions and Discussion section below. .Howeszer.,_ emen_though_a_ Freshman orientation Week ie_withoptdoubt a real added cost and labor intensive, the benefitsobsermed_in_this study Weresnrh thatit_womadseem_more_thanwell worth the cost and effort and should be added to Jewler'emodel_cd_theLideal first_ year_prngram fox_at_trisk students.

Conclusions and Discussion

The- purpose of theprPgAnt_study.wasLta_assess the_ .strengths andweaknesses of the Orientation Week component of The LearningCirrieLProgram at Mount Ida_College in nrder_to understand hQwthis initial component functions in terms of it's stated goalsas...well_as_how. thisprogram...componentcontributed to overallprogram success. At-risk students'

perceptions, professional ,partinipantobservationso_program doeumerits and a variety-Ofother formal and informal data sources were used to conduct this.Assessment. Students-I_

perceptionaLand.ppOessional..participantobservations were formally collected three weeks after theorientation -week-and'et,the-,end-of-the-fall semesteE,Infomakdata were collected on an on-going basis.

In_gelzaU1111-. thefrelbAlPh orientation.week. (FOW) developed_A4verystrong .sense of. solidarity among the 23 at-risk students in theprogram aR well as between these stildents andLthe faculty .andadministrators who' participated. This zolidarity and initial-.hnnding_helped_to integrate. these at -risk students into_the.fabric of academic, dormitory and campus life over the course ofthe-faLI-semeeter.

BEST COPY AVAILA

10

As previously stated,. all 23 at-risk students felt that theywould be more successful academically and socially during the _

fall cipmpqtpr due to. what thPy had 1parnpd and their,participation in the FOW. And they were as the data presentedabove clearly. indicated.

One of the unanticipated outcomes of the FOW was that many ofthecognifivp aspects_oL planned_ activitiPs_,had. to....be_put_onhold to deal with the affective and social problems of thesestudents. During the week,.we became aware that the students'were-unable to attend to the planned activities. So, as Jewler

rprnmmiandR, we_adj4ated- For_examplp,_financial. aid_wAsan overwhelming concern for many of these students. They couldnot learn "study skills" while wondering. if they would attainfinancial clearance. As an open admissions college, this isoften_a_student_concern. asked the-Eleaa_at Finannialjthi_t9address the group. She answered questions, made appointments,and so on until the students felt confident that their fearswere heard and were being addressed.

AnnthPr adjimtment.w.uLmade wheawe-took_the_group_ta Anctnn tQra planned historical and cultural tour. It was toward the end ofthe week and people were tired and grumbling. We asked themwhat they wanted to do. "Walk around and shop" was the response.We_aqkPd them. to pairlag,_qpt a mppting time. and plarim and_setthem free for the afternoon.

More than anything, ..this. flexibility_built a bond of trustbetween the students and their perception of Mount Ida College.Tbig_ppsitioned_the_collegeLas-an-inatitntinn that Rtrilmq tomeet their needs rather than just implementing an establishedplan. Students .were of.the_opinion_that the time spent onaffective and social problems in the FOW helped themcormiThmrshly, to.be successful and_cope. (hiring the fallIn fact, the four students who 'left the college left for socialand not academic reasons and.wereof them with GPA's over 3.0. Students also identified several .

aspects_ot_the.EOW that needed. tici_be impriwad, such"as_highly_focused and well-programmed.evening activities and sessions.

KEY.RECOmmRhinATIONS FOR.IMPROVEMENTS/CHANGES_OF THE ..PROGRAM_

1. The students" obligations and opportunities should be clearlyenni-rart _and_ signed prior...to...theEDW.

This contract will then be used by the students forperiodic.self-evaluation.

2. More cognitive skills could be infused into the program ifthe_ day. sessions_ were shorter_ while the great need_f_Qraffective activities could be addressed in carefullyplanned evening. activities.

3. More needs to be done to encourage all faculty involvement.

11 BEST COPY AVA1LA E

In.addition_to.its focus on..multiple Libaracies, assessing,validating and changing students perceptions and students''cognitive skills, attitudes, values and behaviors, the FreshmanOrientation Week was successful, we believe, for other reasons

at,risk..stu.dents,_who..are .not.particularly,confident or secure, "time with the campus",and key staff whenhardly, anyone else was around made it much easier and far lessthreatening for them to explore the campus, to bond with it andfeal_that..it . was "thp+r awn" than dnring the_.initial weeks...ofthe fall semester when everyone, including. faculty and staff, isfeeling_"overwhelmed" and "frenetic." This factor could be seenas an application of Wolpe's (1959) systematic desensitizationtheory_ and...somewhat like getting the fimPl of_..a_ stage..0r._basketball court before you actually have to perform on it when -,no one is around.

Another pgpert_of the_Ereshman Pripntatina Week conducted_beforethe campus is in full operation is that it gives the new at-riskstudent a_zimplifipd_and_fornsed enmi ronmPnt. of greatly_reducedcomplexity with fewer distractions 'which allows the student to'be_ less overwhelmed.hy. over_choice,_amhivity, overload, fear,and confusion. This,in turn, 'helps.the new at -risk student todevelop _a_ sense that..being__ successful at_ onl 1 (Nip Antna 1 1 Y."doable" by her or him. One must not forget that many of theife-att-rigk students, are_ ."ADD_'. to. somadpgrpP and. that the firgt fewmonths of freshman year are overwhelming for most Students.

The-rplafively simplifipd and_focused_enviranment_WItheFreshman Orientation week also allows new at-risk-students.tomore. easily.. make frigmetS and demelop_a_social support system and"surrogate family," which is perhaps more important for thesestudents: than:.. other fimt_yErar_ students. Si-m-tlarty,_.the. weekalso makes the new at-risk students more recognizable and realas.anindividnal-an&S.Sa_person (rt4 tuat.j1latalIntilPr face: Oncampus) to key faculty, staff, and administrators. Thispersonalization..acrt..only..helps...thenew_atrisk.:stnAlunt-to_get"better service," but also help to promote a feeling ofacceptanwan&then:.hnndting-and._.identiflcation:with_thacollacle.

Given all of the above, it would seem reasonable to say thatalthougha.:Freshman:Orienta&imak..is_mithout.doubt-arealadded cost and labor intensive, the benefits observed in thisstudy .wera.sucir.that.it.wonldseem_moretham.well worth...tha_costand effokt and a component that should be added to Jewler'smcdeIcif_the-ixlealfirst-year_program for..atr.riskstndents....__,

BEST COPY AVAILA E

12

References

Ashcraft,. D.(1994). Human Memorvand. Cognition. New York: HarperCollins.

Dagostinov L.. and Carifio.. J.(1994).. .Reading.Evaluative andLiteracy: A Cognitive View. New York: Allyn and Bacon.Fidler.,.. P.P and Hunter,..M.S...

(1989)."Howeeminars.enhanCestudent success." In M.L. Uperaft & J, N. Gardner (Ed.).The.Freshman Year. Experience.: aelping_Students_Survive .andSucceed in College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Gardner, J.N. (1993), The First. Year Experience: FreshmanSeminar Instructor Training. Raleigh, SC: University of SC.Gormley, A. (1993). Lifespan Human. Development. Fifth Edition,New York: Harcourt Brace.

Heider, F. (1958). The Psycholoav of Interpersonal Relations.New York: J. Wiley.

Jeweler, A. J...(19891. Elements of an effective seminar: theuniversity 101 program. In M.L. Uperaft & J. N. Gardner(Ed.), The Freshman Year Experience: Helping StudentsSurvive and Succeed in College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Krathwohl, D., Bloom, B., and Bertram, M. (1959). Taxonomy ofEducational Objectives. Bankbook II: Affective Domain. New_York: David McKay Company, Inc.

Lettieri, R.(1998). "The Learning Circle and The Muhammad AliStudy Group Projects ". Mid-Year Board of Trustees Review.MA: Mount Ida College.

Miles, M. and Huberman, A.. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Neisser, U. (1967) . Cognitive Psychology. New York: Appleton.Runkel, P. (1956). Cognitive similarity in facilitatingcommunication. Socioemetry, 19,5,3,.178-191.Siegel, B.L. (1989). A president's perspective on the value offreshman seminar. In M.L. Uperaft & J. N. Gardner (Ed.)..The Freshman Year Experience: Helping Students Survive,andSucceed in College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Weber, P. (1990). Basic Content Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA:SAGE Publications.

Wilkie, C. and Kuckuck, S. (1989).. "A longitudinal study of theeffects of a freshman seminar." Journal of the FreshmanYear. Experience, 1.. (41-, 1-10,

Wolpe, J.(1969). The Practice of Behavioral Therapy. NY: Pergamon.

13BEST COPY AVAILABLE

U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Educational Research and Improvement (OER!)

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

REPRODUCTION RELEASE

I. DOCUMENT IDENTIFICATION:

(Specific Document)

Title: 2:xs e-vIsk-s c)f) 114- \I'C"r 1..12/tAT- coy-- 33 ,12"

Author(s): er k svnCorporate Source: Publication Date:

U1112S- LouiZ GatitZ Wt. cam. (/

II. REPRODUCTION RELEASE:In order to disseminate as widely as possible timely and significant materials of interest to the educational community, documents announced

in the monthly abstract journal of the ERIC system, Resources in Education (RIE), are usually made available to users in microfiche, reproducedpaper copy, and electronic/optical media, and sold through the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS) or other ERIC vendors. Credit isgiven to the source of each document, and, if reproduction release is granted, one of the following notices is affixed to the document.

If permission is granted to reproduce and disseminate the identified document, please CHECK ONE of the following two options and sign at

the bottom of the page.

LIM

Check hereFor Level 1 Release:Permitting reproduction inmicrofiche (4* x 6" film) orother ERIC archival media(e.g., electronic or optical)and paper copy.

Signhere -*please

The sample sticker shown below will be The sample sticker shown below will be

affixed to all Level 1 documents

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL

HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

Level 1

affixed to all Level 2 documents

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS

MATERIAL IN OTHER THAN PAPERCOPY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

Level 2

Documents will be processed as indicated provided reproduction quality permits. If permission

to reproduce is granted, but neither box is checked, documents will be processed at Level 1.

n4

Check hereFor Level 2 Release:Permitting reproduction inmicrofiche (4' x 6* film) orother ERIC archival media(e.g., electronic or optical),but not in paper copy.

',hereby grant to the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) nonexclusive permission to reproduceand disseminate

this document as indicated above. Reproduction from the ERIC microfiche or electronic/opticalmedia by persons other than

ERIC employees and its system contractors requires permission from the copyright holder. Exception is made for non -profit

reproduction by libraries and other service agencies to satisfy information needs of educators in response todiscrete inquiries.'

Signature:

Organization/Address:

a-7 R., --/-40",G6Q-72-er-4-014.)r, 774 O Len

Printed Name /Position /Tide:

Telephone: PAi:

6,(1-q),4-644tiE-Mail Address: Date:

9 /-2 leao(over)